Died On This Date (January 3, 2014) Phil Everly / The Everly Brothers
themusicsover Phil Everly
January 19, 1939 – January 3, 2014
Phil Everly, along with his brother Don Everly, are considered the must influential vocal duo pop music has ever known. Working together as the Everly Brothers, they created such seamless and glorious harmonies that no less than members of the Byrds, the Beatles, and the Beach Boys have preached their influence ever since. Born in Chicago, Illinois to a musical family, Phil learned to play the guitar at an early age. Family patriarch, Ike Everly was a respected professional musician himself, so the boys were introduced to music as a way of life while still in their childhood. Ultimately settling in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Everly family performed as a group throughout the area for many years. By the early ’50s, Phil and Don were working as a duo, making an early believer out of Chet Atkins who helped then secure their first recording contract with Columbia Records. Their first single, “Keep A’ Lovin’ Me,” performed less than spectacularly, so Columbia dropped them. Before they knew it, Acuff-Rose Publishing snatched Phil and Don up as songwriters while Roy Acuff helped land them a deal with Cadence Records. From there, the Everly Brothers’ career skyrocketed. Their first release for Cadence, “Bye Bye Love” shot to #2 on the pop charts, #1 on the country charts, and #5 on the R&B charts. What followed that million-seller was a string of hits that helped define the era. Records like “Wake Up Little Susie,” “All I Have To Do Is Dream,” and “Cathy’s Clown” earned the duo more than $35 Million dollars by 1962 – an astonishing sum at that time. After the British Invasion hit the U.S. in 1964, the Everly Brothers’ shine diminished as teenagers scrambled for the new sound by the likes of the Beatles, who ironically, might not have ever crossed the Atlantic if it weren’t for Phil and Don. By the dawn of the ’70s, the Everly Brothers had split up to pursue solo careers. Phil worked with likes of Warren Zevon and Roy Wood, and later scored a hit with “Don’t Say You Don’t Love Me No More,” a tune he wrote and performed with actress, Sondra Locke in the Clint Eastwood hit film, Every Which Way But Loose. In 1983, the Everly Brothers reunited for an acclaimed concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The show was recorded and the subsequent album returned the duo to the charts. Phil and Don continued to record and perform as a duo and individually well into the 2000s. In all, they scored 35 Billboard Top 100 singles, a record that still stands to this day. They were also recognized with nearly every musical award you could think of including being part of the first group of ten artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. On January 3, 2014, it was announced that Phil Everly died of pulmonary disease. He was 74.
What You Should Own
Ben Curtis was a founding member of the two popular indie rock bands, Secret Machines and School Of Seven Bells. Born in Layton, Oklahoma, Curtis moved to Dallas, Texas while still in junior high. A gifted guitarist, drummer and songwriter, he and his brother, Brandon Curtis, formed Secret Machines in 2000 and moved the band to New York City. The space rock group released several acclaimed singles, EPs and albums and even opened for u2 during a 2006 show in Mexico. In 2007, Curtis and identical twins, Claudia Deheza and Alejandra Deheza launched School Of Seven Bells, a popular shoegaze band who went on to release numerous records to critical acclaim as well. Their most recent LP, Ghostory, came out in 2013. Curtis also played in UFOFU and Tripping Daisy during his career. In early 2013, it was announced that he had been diagnosed with T-cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma but initially, that it was treatable. In August of 2013, several musicians held a benefit concert to raise money to help with his medical expenses. Devendra Banhart along with members of Interpol and the Strokes took part. Ben Curtis ultimately died from the cancer on December 29, 2013. He was 35.
Yusef Lateef was a highly influential jazz multi-instrumentalist who, primarily through the flute and tenor saxophone, is best remembered for seamlessly integrating of jazz and Eastern music. Raised in Detroit, Michigan, Lateef was exposed to the playing of such local greats as Milt Jackson, Kenny Burrell and 
Lord Infamous was an American rapper and co-founding member of the popular rap group, Three 6 Mafia who is credited with coining “crunk” to describe the style of southern hip hop they came to exemplify. Formed in 1991, the group built a sizable underground following for their music that some have labeled “horrorcore” due to its darker elements. Lord Infamous’ lyrics in particular, generally revolved around the occult, murder, suicide and Satanism. Three 6 Mafia’s fourth album, 2000’s When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1, reached #6 on the Billboard Top 200 on its way to selling well over a million copies. In 2006, Lord Infamous and Three 6 Mafia parted ways due to a contractual breach with their record label. Lord Infamous went on to form a label, Black Rain Entertainment, with longtime friend, II Tone. The company released numerous albums by Lord Infamous and other hip hop acts from the Memphis area. Earlier in 2013, Lord Infamous with original Three 6 Mafia members, DJ Paul, Crunchy Black, Koopsta Knicca, and Gangsta Boo formed Da Mafia 6ix. They released their first mix tape, 6ix Commandments in November of 2013 while working on a new studio album to be released in 2014. On December 20, 2013, Lord Infamous died at the age of 40. Cause of death was not immediately released.